CHAPTER 299: CHAPTER 171-172: ALL PRESENT / PREPARING FOR MILITARY TRAINING

At the Sha City Fourth People’s Hospital Chest Department Doctor’s Duty Room, it was almost nine in the evening when Vice Director Zhong Yi finished organizing the patient records. He twisted his neck and stretched, then took a logbook and stepped out of the duty room.

Twenty-seven-year-old Zhong Yi is the grandson of the esteemed medical expert Zhong Liantai. At the age of 24, he had already obtained his doctorate from the Royal College of Medicine and worked in the well-known Wisson Hospital.

Mr. Zhong had devoted his entire life to the medical field of the motherland, and naturally, he did not wish his grandson to remain abroad after achieving success in his studies. Therefore, he insisted that his grandson return to develop his career in his homeland.

"I acknowledge that their medical skills are more advanced than ours, which is why I let you study abroad. But you should love your own country, so you must come back."

"I am your grandfather, if I tell you to come back, you must come back!"

Those were Mr. Zhong’s exact words "persuading" his grandson to return. Zhong Yi felt helpless about his grandfather’s "rascality." How could such a venerable elder become so unreasonable when it came to him?

Upon arriving at the nurse’s station, he couldn’t help but frown slightly upon seeing two on-duty nurses whispering to each other with their heads together: "Shouldn’t you be keeping a close eye on the ICU? What are you muttering about?"

The critical care ward is second only to the intensive care unit, situated opposite the nurse’s station, with glass walls. It’s placed under the watchful eyes of the nurses to avoid any negligence from family members who accompany the patients.

The older nurse quickly stood up: "Dr. Zhong, we have been monitoring closely... we..." She hesitated for a moment then continued, "We were discussing that family member who’s been caring for the patient by herself for over forty hours since the surgery. If this continues..."

Zhong Yi glanced over and waved his hand: "Alright, sit down." Then he turned and entered the critical care ward.

The nurse let out a small sigh of relief. Although Vice Director Zhong was young, he wasn’t too particular about things. The only thing was that he was extremely strict about work and didn’t tolerate any slack.

Zhong Yi carefully observed the patients in the six beds, quietly advising relatives if they weren’t doing an adequate job. Finally, he stopped at bed number 2, checked the patient’s condition, then said softly, "Miaomiao, come out with me for a moment."

With her delicate features and eyes swollen like walnuts, Miaomiao respectfully stood up when Zhong Yi entered. To her, Zhong Yi was her lifesaver; without Director Zhong, her mother might have...

"Dr. Zhong, is my mother... does she have something..." Once outside the ward, Miaomiao looked at Zhong Yi with anxiety. In her experience, when a doctor calls a family member out alone, it’s usually not a good sign.

Zhong Yi quickly shook his head: "No, your mother’s condition is currently stable. I wanted to ask if there are any other family members who can take turns with you? Given your mother’s current condition, the person watching her can’t sleep. It’s been two days, and at least two more days are needed before she can stop receiving IV hydration 24/7. If you continue to care for her alone, I’m afraid she might recover, but you’ll end up in bed yourself."

"I... I can handle it," Miaomiao sniffled. "Dr. Zhong, I am healthy and won’t collapse from exhaustion."

"It’s not something you can just say. Normally, a person can live for five days without sleep, but that’s just research data. Besides, you wouldn’t want to end up on a hospital bed needing resuscitation after five days, right?" Zhong Yi hesitated: "Miaomiao, think carefully about who can replace you for a bit. It’s also for the patient’s quicker recovery."

"There’s really no one," Miaomiao began to sob quietly.

"Miaomiao..." Nurse Wang Xiaowei stepped forward: "Even if you can get an elder from your family to take over for a while, it would be better. You really can’t keep going like this."

"Both my Grandma and Grandpa are gone..." Miaomiao cried as she squatted down: "After my parents divorced, my father stopped caring about us. There really isn’t anyone who can help us."

"Do you have your father’s phone number?" Zhong Yi asked.

Miaomiao shook her head: "No, I don’t have my father’s address or phone number. We haven’t been in touch for over eight years. It’s been my mother supporting me all along. If it wasn’t for me, my mother wouldn’t have waited until her intestinal obstruction became a ruptured intestine before coming to the hospital. It’s all my fault; I almost killed my mother..."

"Miaomiao, get up." Wang Xiaowei sighed as she helped Miaomiao up. Patients like Mrs. Miao are indeed a rarity; the kind of pain before intestinal rupture isn’t something that an ordinary person could endure. A mother’s love is truly magnificent!

"You dropped something." Zhong Yi bent down to pick up a red paper item that had fallen to the ground and handed it to Miaomiao. He glimpsed a few words, "admission notice," and withdrew his hand: "Is this your admission notice?"